The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-03-26

covered with Il mattress, on which Tugs
are spread. On this the ladies arc
wont to sit on their knees.
When the mandate has gone forth
for the ladies to 90 abroad from the
palace, which they always do with II
long procession of coaches, mounted
heralds are sent half an hour in adj
vance to announc their coming in the
streets they arc to traverse. Great
commotion Immediately ensues. The
very ours, fighting or hunting their ma
tive preserves in the middle of the
street. scent the alarm and sink into
hidden corners; while every shop
keeper hastens to close his booth, and
retires from the scene. Bystanders
and wayfarers take the nearest short
cut that may lead them away from
these dangerous precincts, and soon
the street is entirely deserted.
A rumbling is soon heard in the dis
lance; then a squad of gholams or
mounted guards Of the palace, a corps
of picked cavalry, are seen approach
ing. Soon after the chief eunuch, a
rather pleasant-looking white man,
follows, and then the line of blue
coaches filled with ladies closely yelled.
Mounted cunuchs protect the last
carriage, and another squadron of
cavalry brings up the rear of the pro-
c~ession, but at a distance from the
coaches sufficient to prevent too close
inspection of the fair inmates.
Woe be to the luckless wight who
happens to be so incautious or I'M
fortunate as to be found in the street
when the procession passes. In former
times he would have been slain on the
spot. There is a case on record in
which the ~forerunners discovered 4
page asleep on the rug by the wayside.
Without so much rs stopping to wake
him, they rolled hint up in a rug, tossed
him into a ditch, and buried him alive.
While such a terrible fate might not
perhaps await any one now who should
be caught in such a ~predicament,
yet he would at least receive n kicking
and thrashing that he would remember
to his dying day. Even the scntinels
posted in the street or in palace gates
must turn face to the wall when the
royal cortege passes, and present arms
from behind! General Gasteiger, an
Austrian in the service of the Shah,
was on one occasion unable to get
away rs the coaches entered the street;
turning to the wall he wagged his hand
at his back by way Of salute. Even
the Shah condescendcd to laugh when
he heard of this absurd incident,
although he shows no disposition to re-
lax the very strict customs relating to
his wives. Europeans are not exempt
from this strictness; and a young
foreigner, who was detected looking
from the roof of his house on the royal
ladies as they rode by, was given
t%wcnty-four hours to leave for the
frontier. His legation could afford him
no protection, as he had offended
Against wv llpst iiSiu laws Ohb
prejudices of the realm.
Foreign ENJOYS arc alone exempt
from these stern regulations Of the
Court of Persia. While, of course,
yielding precedence to the Shah, they
in turn take precedence of his wives
and all his subjects. 1t was for this
reason that l found myself obliged to
act with prompt decision in a case al
ready reported in our WI press in a
garbled form. The procession of car
riages containing the wives of the Shah
was resting in the shade of some trees
and the carriages of the United States
Legation came on the scene unexpected
" to all concerned. l had the right of
way. although l might not have in
| sisted on it if l had not been violently
attacked by a squad of cavalry
with lanccs and drawn s.. bres
who struck my men and lorses
with fury, although they knew per-
fcctly well my right to pass. The
result was that we came very near los
ing our lives, my horses plunging vio-
lcntly. and the driver and attendants
being seriously maltreated. But it was
necessary to force a passage, which l
| did, and Immediately on reaching the
legation l demanded ample reparation.
which was granted after I had lodged
an ultimatum limited to thirty-six
hours. This course, which was APP
proved by the foreign ENJOYS at Tehe.
ran, was absolutely necessary in order
to uphold the rights and prestige of the
entire diplomatic corps at a court
where such rights are not less grudg.
ingly accorded than elsewhere, and
once lost arc not easily recovered. 1t
may not be generally understood that
the maintenance Of prestige is a matter